Questing is easier with the appropriate equipment
by Aoi24
Summary: Challenge!fic. Weapon challenge. 3-shot. RPG AU. Adventurers gather together in guilds before heading out to explore ruins, fight monsters and use their unique skills in the world. After all, they're only interested in treasure...right?
1. The Sword of truth!

**Weapon Prompt**

Pick a pairing or pairings and write three or more drabbles based on a weapon or weapon related.

Challenge response for the sacred and profane.

I have a theme for this challenge kukukukukuku~ But actually I was not thinking of Fairy Tail at all but Final Fantasy and MMOs when I wrote this. (and a bit of Dragon Age)

First of three one-shots set in the same AU.

* * *

**Weapon: The sword…of truth!**

Zoro grimaced and wrapped his cloak tighter as he struggled further up the mountain path blustery winds buffeting his body. Since he was taking point Zoro was forced to endure the worst of the elements and clear the way for those following in his wake. He still wasn't convinced on this quest but a job was a job and they all needed money. Besides what sort of guild member would turn down a decent adventure. That was _not_ what being a member of the adventurers' guild _The Gray Path_ was all about.

_-break-_

On the Eastern Continent there were many adventurers' guilds. These guilds had certain qualifiers to join and whatever guild accepted you meant that you would be aligned against the many rival guilds on the continent. The purpose of these guilds was two fold. First they served as the middlemen for quests and jobs available for interested parties. They accepted a small portion of the reward, graded the mission based on difficulty and advertised it on their job board in the guild hall. Sometimes the quest was deemed to risky or harmful to the guild and passed on or a quest was not possible for the members of the guild so it was passed on to another guild by the master.

While each guild competed with the other open warfare was frowned upon and punished usually punished by the Grand Council who oversaw all guilds and organised annual tournaments for the adventurers to battle it out freely. (and with less chance of property damage.) Guilds that did not acknowledge the authority of the Council were considered illegal and thus 'open game' for those from legal guilds. In fact, it was a common enough mission to wipe these 'guilds' (read: bandits) out. For the most part though, Guild-members were free to do as they pleased and only answered to their Guild-Master.

The second purpose of the guilds was to gather together likeminded individuals to party, fight and generally do all the sorts of things nakama did together….well that's what they did in _The Gray Path_ at any rate.

_-break-_

Makino smiled as Luffy bounced through the door waving his hands cheerfully.

"Hey, Hey. Makino! Has Sanji started cooking yet?"

"Yes, there's breakfast ready and Killer-san just hauled in some variety of dragonkin he encountered on his way to the hall this morning."

Luffy started drooling at the thought of all that raw, dripping meat. He was knocked out of his thoughts by an enthusiastic tackle and found his face pressed into a muscular shoulder. "Oh, hey Shanks" he mumbled.

"LUFFY! How was your mission, it's been so long. I missed you and Benn is being mean." The red haired man concluded in an audible whine.

The teenager mumbled something that was ostensibly about bacon but was indecipherable through the folds of Shanks clothing. The hand groping for the plate of breakfast Makino set down gave a clue though.

Makino calmly poked Shanks on the shoulder with her staff. "Master Shanks, perhaps Luffy could better answer you if you weren't suffocating him."

Shanks blinked and released his captive who immediately began stuffing his face from the plate of baterilla bacon that Makino had set down on the bar counter. The red-haired man quickly turned his attention to the bar mistress and clasped her hands. "Makino," he purred "have I ever told you how much I love it when you call me Master?"

"All the time but it's far too early in the day for your nonsense Guild-Master Shanks."

"A woman who can take charge. I'm seriously turned on m'dear; just say the word and your desire shall become my life mission."

She paused and traced a fingernail along her bottom lip "Well, now that you mention it, there is one thing that I _really _want you to do for me Shanks."

He leaned in, hot breath ghosting across her face. "Ask and you shall receive."

Makino promptly slapped a bundle of documents into his hands. "We need you to sort through these missions and classify them Boss."

Shanks sighed and dropped his head onto the countertop. "Duty never ends. I should retire (and take you with me) Fine, I'll get right on this. Send up a pitcher would you Makino-chan?"

She winked at the pouting Guild-Master as he sauntered off to his office on the upper level leafing through the stack of mission offers as he went.

A guild hall most closely resembled a tavern. It served food, drinks (copious amounts of alcohol), provided a meeting place for members and some measure of accommodation. Makino ran the bar and most day to day activities of _The Gray Path_ but it was Shanks who was the Guild-Master. But don't misunderstand, she was not just an employee, she was a member of the guild.

Makino was an Earth Mage. She had learned from a woman named Dadan who lived in the mountains. Mages came in a million different varieties but when going up against fighters who used some variety of _Spirit Arts_ they had no necessary advantage. Even within her category there were hundreds of different kinds of Earth Mages. A martial artist is a very specific and astonishingly vague wasn't it? It's the same idea. Makino's area of expertise truly was making things _grow_ but the guild didn't publicise that fact because if the nobles living in the far north realised how good she was then they would have some problems. She also was quite skilled at defensive magic's in the earth style and thus was on of the members perfect for protecting the guild if assaulted.

Luffy had joined the guild with his brothers at a very young age but had only been allowed to take interesting missions in the last year.

"Muemo, Mmrohr, plurf."

"Luffy, please swallow what you're eating first."

"Ah, Makino; do you know if there are any good quests available?"

"Finish breakfast and go look on the board. Were you hoping for a solo job Luffy?

Luffy inhaled the last of the bacon and set about stealing additional breakfast from another guild member further down the bar. "Nah. Ace does lots of missions like that but I think it's really boring." He grinned "It's better having an adventure with lots of nakama, right?"

Makino chuckled and filled a pitcher with beer. "I thought some of your team was off on a job of their own."

"Zoro and Usopp went with Robin on a little adventure. I think Vivi sent Kohza along too." Luffy shrugged dismissively "They'll be back soon enough."

_-break—_

The quartet huddled together on the plateau as Robin checked her map.

Kohza sneezed and let out a stream of archaic curses. "Why in the name of the jackal of the damned is this stupid ruin up a frosty mountain? It makes no sense."

"fufuu, enjoying the weather, Kohza-san?" Robin chuckled, managing to maintain her composure despite being clad in fish net stockings but it might have something to do with the enchantments she would prudently utilise "The temple was devoted to the hawk god of the sky so they reached for a high spot."

"And the Alabastan border is about three thousand kliks _south_ of this god-forsaken mountain."

Usopp shivered in his cloak and twitched his nose trying to dislodge the icicles forming there "Can we discuss historical significance once we're _out of the cold_."

Zoro grunted in agreement and returned to scanning the area. They'd fought several monsters not to long ago and the scent of blood was likely to attract more. "Are you absolutely sure about this Robin? It's not too late to turn around. We could do some monster hunting in the lowlands on the way back."

Kohza snarled "I left the warmth of the desert for this. I'm quitting without some sort of payout."

"Fufuu~ I'm sure all of our efforts will be rewarded and I believe that the entrance we seek is buried over there."

Usopp checked his enchanted sniping goggles and peered at the ledge. "I see it. The door's blocked but if it's safe enough Zoro could bust it in."

"These ruins are half collapsed but what survived was carved out of strong rock so they're pretty sturdy." Kohza kicked some of the snow off his boots "So how do we reach it?"

Usopp reached for his bow and choose an arrow with runes carved onto it from the large quiver on his back. He drew back the string and embedded the arrow deeply above their destination in a flash. He made a gesture and a connected rope sat in his hand. Embedding the other end on their side of the gulf and giving it a test tug Usopp the rogue sniper flipped onto the rope and ran across before pressing himself against the opposite wall and resolutely not looking down towards what could only be described as a 'gaping chasm of doom' that he had just crossed.

Kohza pulled out a wheel from his supplies. "I thought Usopp was afraid of those death-defying rogue skills."

Robin busied herself with her runic bangles are she prepared to activate some of her enchantments. "Longnose-kun? I believe he is but it seems that it doesn't mean he can't do them." A lilac glow surrounded her and she grasped the desert nomad's shoulders. Kohza hooked his small wheelie onto the rope and took a running start. He glided across the chasm with Robin merely touching his shoulder having activated her featherlight and barrier enchantments in order to hitch a ride easily.

Her enchantments were notoriously difficult magic to master requiring years of study and even then they tending to be of little immediate use requiring countless hours of preparation. Fortunately for the Oharan she had not only come from the city of scholars and runes but she was a proven genius revolutionising the use of the arts even if she made them no more accessible to the average adventurer.

Zoro gave a shout and ran towards the gulf, jumping and grabbing the ropes three quarters of the way and pulling himself the last few feet. The swordsman pulled himself up and quickly cut the rope just as a bunch of white creatures reached the edge.

Usopp shrieked and threw himself behind Robin attempting to meld into her shadow with admirable success. "What the hell are those things?"

"Nimble." Zoro snarled "And in possession of some extremely sharp claws. We don't have time to play with them right now." He drew one of his swords and sliced through the heavy door blocking their way in one clean movement. "Let's find the damn artefact and get out of here."

_-break—_

Nami was a witch. But that's not really very specific. She was a mage who had a particular affinity for weather magic. In truth she had spent most of her teen years practising rogue skills before returning to her first love of weather magic. It didn't change the fact that she could damn near pickpocket anyone or break any lock on the Eastern Continent. Even though she had left her hometown after the death of Arlong and the collapse of the illegal guild he reigned over Nami was not fool enough to abandon the skills she had acquired.

Usopp was the better shot by far but he was no slouch with other rogue skills despite his tendency to panic. They worked well together and got on well when Luffy had tossed them both over his shoulder and run all the way to the guild hall to make them join. Nami and Usopp had discovered that they did actually like the guild even if the members had presumptively begun celebrating their recruitment before they'd even agreed. The Guild-Master had cheerfully dismissed their concerns and jumped on an excuse to hold another party.

That was how Nami joined the famous and raucous adventurer's guild _The Gray Path_. With the Guild-Master getting drunk, people dancing on the tables, gambling, singing and spontaneously fighting all over the place. It was mad, chaotic and a hell of a lot of fun. Plus it gave her a perfect opportunity to tomb raid erhm…provide a valuable service to the community and be well compensated.

Today, Nami the (in)famously beautiful (greedy) cartographer and Weather Witch (thief) was with a small party in the Southernmost desert city of Nanohana in the country of Alabasta. She had taken on a well-paid mission to conjure rain for some areas. Vivi had sent the mission request when she had dispatched Kohza to assist in the quest Robin wanted to do. Easy work, good pay and a chance to visit with a dear friend. Of course she hadn't travelled alone. Only complete morons, the desperate and 'SS'-ranked adventurers' travelled on their own. Aside from bandits, marauding forces and religious missionaries there was a multitude of dangers in the world.

Brooke the unintentional necromancer, swordsman and bard. (A skeleton of many talents.) Brooke had once been a member of the successful and popular guild _Rhumba Steps_ who were famous for their swordsmen, bards and throwing really swinging parties. They had fallen to a coalition of dark guilds though and only Brooke had survived by mien of a dying mage comrade expending the last of their strength to resurrect a member of their guild for a second chance. It was dangerous blood magic but the man had been desperate and afraid. Brooke had been summoned back to his body but unfortunately had remained trapped within the ruins of the guild hall due to the protective wards that among other things prevented movement of the undead. The gaping hole in that ward was however that while undead creatures could not cross the border they could be summoned inside the border. Thus the undead musician had spent fifty years amongst the remains of his dearest friends until Luffy had bounced into his life unintentionally broke the ward and dragged him off to join their guild. (They got more members that way.) He was a good man (or skeleton) to have at your back when monsters were pouring in. His bardic skills confused their enemies and gave boosts to their allies before his accuracy let him nip in close and cut through weak spots. He strolled along beside Nami and twiddled with a harp Vivi had gifted him with as he hummed an old tune.

Franky was sulking as he walked along. It wasn't the fact that they were walking to the port that he was feeling distinctly un-super about (although if he had his way they would be flying in his lovingly built airship the _Thousand Sunny_) but the long and itchy robes Nami had threatened him into wearing. Although promising to tell Chopper and letting the little doctor and beast magic prodigy get upset was _so_ not playing fair and completely un-super of her. The blue haired man was a mechanical and engineering genius. He had trained with the mayor of the coastal city, and hub for all sorts of ships both air and traditional, Water 7 until the unfortunate death of their mentor via assassin. It was still unclear who had ordered the death of the brilliant and innovative airship pioneer Tom but it failed to accomplish anything. Franky estimated that the death of Tom had set back the development of transport engineering by twenty years. Franky had run an illegal guild in Water 7 for some years until they went legal and Franky followed Luffy in order to follow his own dream of building a more powerful and efficient type of airship, one that could circumnavigate the globe thus proving his theories on cola as a fuel source and creating the only airship that could surpass the current limit on airtime that hampered them.

They were sailing back north anyway. The _Sunny_ was still in the shop. Franky had actually been in the middle of an engine overhaul when Nami had needed someone else to join her party for the trip. Two people was dodgy but three competent card carrying guild members was more than enough to make bandits think twice.

"Yo-ho-ho-ho. Miss Vivi was very kind to bequeath such a marvellous harp to me."

Nami eyed it speculatively "Is it valuable?"

"Most definitely Miss Nami. It was crafted for _range_. Such a type of bardic tool is exceedingly rare.

"Rare, you say?" Nami leered at the harp with a certain greedy expression.

Franky hopped around as he ditched his heavy robes on the deck "Nami-sis' don't try and sell Brookes' gift from Vivi-sis'. That would be seriously not super."

"Yo-ho-ho-ho." Brooke chuckled "But Miss Nami wouldn't be Nami if she didn't at least contemplate it. Apologies Miss Nami but when I say 'range' I'm not referring to different scales, pitches or varieties of music."

Nami blinked "But then what…? You mean?"

"Precisely. Bardic skills will be given an area boost so I spread them over a much larger area. A truly princely gift from the princess."

"That's brilliant." Nami cheered "Vivi always gives the best gifts and for a bard that's definitely something irreplaceable."

"hmm, I think Brooke-bro will have an opportunity to test it out now" Franky guzzled the last of his cola and threw the empty bottle at one of the sea monsters rising out of the ocean.

"Yo-ho! Time to go to work then."

Nami pulled out her elaborately carved staff. "You stupid sea monsters had better have some treasure in your bellies. Let's see how you handle some lightning."

_-break—_

Kohza and Robin scanned over the writing on the walls, their heads bowed together in whispered conversation as they decoded the glyphs.

"You're right Robin. A definite Alabastan influence. Probably carved by the peoples of some of the migrant tribes that moved north during the reign of Ghubar."

"I thought as much. This temple was lost after Ghubar was slain so the people must have abandoned it."

Zoro drummed his head repeatedly against a pillar.

"Oh? Is something the matter Zoro?"

"I signed on to _kill things_ not encourage academic discussion."

Robin chuckled as she etched some runes upon a blank book. "Patience Zoro-kun. Fufuu~ We wouldn't want to trigger any traps or fail to find what we're looking for would we?"

Zoro thumbed at his katanas and sneered "There's very little in these ruins that could cause me any problems."

"For the love of god, DON'T go off triggering death traps just because you've got something to prove!" Usopp shrieked before sneezing repeatedly "Guh, We should have sent Killer and Kidd on this mission."

Zoro considered this for a moment. "Not enough monster slaying and battles for them."

"Point. But that hair and that coat would have kept them warm. What about Chopper, Law or Bepo? Those guys _do _cold weather."

Robin sidled up behind him the inscriptions safely copied into her enchanted tome "Ah but longnose-kun, while they all possess the skills required for monster hunting in the cold reaches of this world they are unfortunately ill-equipped to deal with translations and traps."

Kohza adjusted his scarf and tinted visor "I dunno, from what I heard about that Killer guy any trap would have a hard time trying to catch him."

Usopp nodded thoughtfully. "What exactly are we looking for anyway?"

"A few things." Robin murmured.

"We're going to bring back" Zoro turned to face him "the sword….of truth."

"The sword…of truth?"

Usopp collapsed on the ground laughing and rolled around whooping in hilarity. He jumped up "Perfect! It'll go marvellously with my pitchfork of destiny."

Zoro kicked him and strode on. "Let's just find the damn thing so we can turn it in for the loot money."

The rogue sniper sniffed indignantly "S'not as if you actually need another sword anyway."

_-break—_

The evening was approaching and if anything the hall was getting more rowdy. Guild members tended to form teams within the hall itself but it didn't prevent them from working with different members or on their own.

Portgas D. Ace, former martial artist, former fire mage, currently a dragon mage was a member of 'Team Spade' but he often took jobs and quests on his own or with people from other 'Teams'. For most people, it depended on the sort of job that was available.

If you were exploring ancient ruins or infiltrating someplace it paid to have a rogue on your team. If you were fighting monsters then a mage or a medic would not go amiss. Who knows what kind of poison might show up?

It was frequently said that adventurers tended to be utterly disreputable brutes, deviants, thieves, violent lunatics, madmen, seductresses', pirates and generally ne'er do wells. And do you know what? They're completely right.

What people tend to ignore is that they're forthright, loyal, keep the roads safer with their pursuit of bandits and monsters, are credited with the discovery of many useful and worthwhile sorts of magic. Most importantly, they throw _really swinging parties_. Shanks was a world famous adventurer (who would still venture out to do so regularly) and the owner of many epithets and titles. His most treasured title was that of 'partymaster supreme' which should tell you something about him and incidentally was the greatest honour bestowed by a small (but voracious) little tribe far to the west. One that occasionally sent members out to see the world and make an impact…

_-break—_

Robin smiled and glided her fingertips along the smooth surface of the poneglyph. Not _the_ one but another step on her quest at any rate.

Kohza's eyes flickered over the surface of the monolith before turning away. "Well, I saw nothing of interest here."

Usopp nodded "I agree. No one saw anything of interest that merits further investigation."

Zoro merely snorted and idly poked through the debris. "We're adventurer's, aren't we?" his grin took on a feral edge "And adventurers are only interested in treasure."

"Speaking of which." Usopp examined their surroundings "Can we go find the damn sword before I freeze to death. Then you'll have to wheel my frozen corpse back to the guild and use it to cast a statue to my glorious deeds."

Kohza snickered and Zoro prayed for patience. That failing he punched the rogue in the shoulder and sauntered out of the chamber.

_-break—_

Jewel Bonney staggered though the doors of the guild hall. It had been a long and exhausting solo mission but she was an S-ranked fighter dammit so she would take one if she wanted. The only problem with questing solo was that you had no backup and no one else to provide the edibles.

So naturally, instead of heading to the female dormitories (incidentally one of the buildings with the highest security in the world but to date only Monkey D. Luffy has _succeeded_ in his infiltration attempts and his motivations were _not_ the same as everyone else.) she made her way to the hall for a good meal. (read: banquet)

Makino waved to her from behind the bar and Shanks flashed her a thumbs up before returning to his conversation with Makino and Benn. Luffy shouted across the hall and raising her eyebrows she made her way over and gestured for a waiter (They had the biggest table anyway.)

"Hey Bonney! Did'ya have a good adventure? Fight any strong guys?" Luffy warbled happily before he swallowed a turkey.

"It was alright, just hella' long." Bonney shrugged and swiped a plate of chicken from in front of the younger 'D' brother. "What's been going on here? More to the point, why are you here darling?" She grinned widely "Have you finally decided to leave the army and join our guild?"

Tashigi jumped and blushed before stammering. Ace choose this moment to wake up and pull his head out of his potatoes. "Ah, leave her alone Jewel-chan. She came to challenge Zoro but he's not back from his quest yet."

Luffy blinked and flailed "ooo, Tashigi did'ya know what they're looking for? Robin said they're looking for some sort of sword."

Bonney nudged the sergeant. "Hear that darling? Lover boy is bringing a sword back. Isn't that like a' proposal fer' your folk?"

"I'd say that it's something a good sight more….._intimate_." Law leered over her shoulder causing Tashigi to shriek but it did not prevent her from moving to cut him in two with finely tuned reflexes. He blocked her and claimed a spot at the table. "Well, everyone has their weak spots. By the way 'Fire-fist' have you seen Emissary Thatch recently? He said he had a mission to pass on to me but he didn't give it to Makino."

Ace frowned and slapped greedy fingers away from his steak. "No, come to think about it, I haven't seen Thatch in a while. He was supposed to come drinking with me but he never showed. Maybe he had to report back to the council earlier than usual."

"Or maybe you got stood up for sticking him with the bill one too many times" Law muttered into his beer "Still, that's unexpected. Whitebeard wouldn't do that unless it was something _extremely _important."

Whitebeard was a nickname for one of the members of the Grand Council and was something of a terrifying living legend. In his youth he had been a rival of the (in)famous adventurer Gol D. Roger and had a familial network that covered the entire continent. Ace had spent a few years of his mid-teens with the man and had been 'adopted' into the family. Thatch was one of his 'brothers' and an emissary for the council often delivering messages, missions and invitations on behalf of others. (Not to mention a decent swordsman, fun guy and all around stellar human being who, like Luffy, had an incredible knack for collecting friends and allies.)

Bonney dismissed the waiter who skittered off with her order ('everything and keep it coming') before turning to Law "The ol' man wouldn't do something like that. Maybe Thatch caught wind of a job he fancied fer himself and took off fer a bit of excitement."

Ace chewed thoughtfully. "You're probably right there Jewel-chan. Still, if I see him I'll let him know you're looking for him."

Law touched the brim of his hat in thanks before departing muttering something about 'avoiding the storm'.

_-break—_

In adventure stories, the hero slays monsters and navigates their way through traps that have held up for hundreds of years and still function perfectly. Every decent quester knows this to be a load of dragon dung. In truth, very few traps were still operational. It was more of a matter of clearing rubble and broken debris out of the way.

Zoro went first, utilising his enormous strength to knock aside obstacles, grumbling about being 'used as a workhorse' the whole time. Usopp followed, keeping a sharp eye out for anything that merited further investigation as they moved deeper into the neglected keep. Robin navigated using a map that she had 'liberated' from some archive god-only-knows-where while she kept up a narrative describing the brutal and gory end of the people who had built the keep in the first place.

"Hey, wait a minute." Kohza said "if the people were killed _here_ then wouldn't it have been looted already?" He adjusted his sword and checked behind as he performed rear guard duties "This had better not be a wild goose chase."

Zoro bristled "We better not have climbed this damn mountain under false pretences you morbid enchantress! It could have bloody well waited until summer if there's no portable treasure."

Robin chuckled, not at all intimidated by their frustration. "Fufuu~ don't worry. I'm almost positive that the practical treasures are still hidden there."

"_Almost positive?_"

Usopp paused and nodded "Well, you can never say for certain with quests like this can you? With monster hunting requests there is a packet to be picked up from an office somewhere but you can never know if someone has been to the 'castle' before you."

"Exactly right longnose-kun" Robin smiled "but not all explorers take the time to examine the location thoroughly and quite often they go for the obvious prize, missing the _true_ valuables altogether and I believe we turn left here. The 'burial chamber' should be at the end of the hallway and then we should let Usopp-kun go first."

"For some reason," the rogue shuddered "those directions do not fill me with confidence."

_-break—_

Shanks appeared in the seat beside Killer with the efficiency and suddenness that had netted him many a free meal and enemy. His guild members, though, had grown so used to this that they barely batted an eyelid. In fact Killer did not even deign to actually greet him merely acknowledging his presence with the barest of nods before returning to his impassive…well I'm not entirely sure just what he was doing but it was all rather stoic and manly so it doesn't really matter too much.

"Good evening gentlemen~" Shanks sang looking inordinately cheerful considering the amount of alcohol he had imbibed the day before.

Kidd snorted and chugged from his tankard "What do you want you crazy-ass bastard? Shouldn't you be off seducing the bar staff?"

"All in good time my red-haired brother in arms, all in good time." Shanks pulled out a map and spread it over the table "Drake said you were talking to Thatch a few weeks ago. Can you show me where?"

Kidd put down his tankard and looked at Shanks for a moment. It hadn't been a request and the red headed brawler had to admit that when the Guild Master wore that serious expression something interesting was going to happen. Shanks was in charge for a reason and it had nothing to do with his _inhuman_ capacity for alcohol or his penchant for the kind of parties that get talked about years later. Kidd nodded at Killer and the blonde rogue assassin quickly identified the relevant region on the map.

Shanks marked the page and gave it a worried look. "Master Shanks," Killer said "has something happened to Emissary Thatch?"

"I don't know. But it's suspicious enough to be worried." He rose from the table "Keep an eye out for him anyway. If you spot him tell him to pop into a guild somewhere and leave a message."

Kidd snorted as Shanks strode off watching as the red haired man chatted with Benn Beckham before getting knocked aside, over the bar and into Makinos lap for standing in the path of the hurricane of love. He snickered as Shanks cheerfully called a muffled thanks out of a faceful of soft feminine curves after Sanji as the chef descended on Bonney to shower her with food (and affection)

_-break—_

The vast hall had the air of a cathedral. Usopp had drawn his slingshot for while his bow was good for practical purposes he was much faster with his slingshot if he needed. He sidled in nervously. While the likelihood of any functional traps was very slim (but not quite zero percent) the chance that monsters had found a way in and built a den was far more likely.

His caution was prudent and he was not alone. Zoro had his hands resting on his swords (but wait, that's not really unusual), Kohza had actually drawn his blade and Robin had surreptitiously adjusted her belt that undoubtedly contained some horrifying and unpleasant enchantment for her enemies.

Usopp sniffed and grumbled internally about the cold before making the mistake of looking to Kohza for support only to receive a terrifying snarl. He snapped his head forward and skittered forward across the floor. 'Gah, don't go looking for sympathy regarding these conditions from the desert nomad!'

Zoro strode carefully across the damaged stone and stared up at the set of steps carved out of the rock. They ascended to a flat peak where towards the back of the level space was a strange piece of carving almost shaped like a…weapons rack? The Santoryuu master threw a disgusted look over his shoulder. "If that's where they kept the sword then they deserved to have it stolen."

"Fufuu~ Quite so Zoro-kun but that's not where the _real_ treasure is."

Kohza looked up from examining the carvings at the base of the stairs. "So, what you're saying Nico Robin is that he's right."

Zoro blinked as a dawning expression appeared across Usopps face. "You mean, you don't think they left their valuables out on display but hid them like any sensible person would?"

"Not that we're sensible people." Kohza groused thinking of the screeching winds and snow outside along with all of the ravenous monsters they'd have to battle through in order to get back down the mountain. "What we're looking for is not wherever they'd display some gaudy trinket but the 'safe' where they'd lock away their valuables."

Usopp appeared back from where he'd run earlier. "So, this 'safe' we're talking about. Is there any chance it's something like a…hidden room?"

"That is precisely the sort of thing we mean longnose-kun."

"Well, um I think I found it."

_-break—_

Sanji fluttered through the air in a manner most unbefitting a human being but nonetheless he continued to defy gravity as he twittered around the only woman alive that could eat competitively with the 'D' family.

"Jewel-chwan~ how could those worthless louts leave you without support?" He threw himself at her feet and sobbed dramatically "For you I would have cooked in the dungeons of the holy city itself but cruel, cruel fate prevented me from flying on the wings of LOVE to your side."

Ace watched Sanji in bemusement "what does he mean by that?"

"Sanji wanted to go with Bonney but he couldn't because Makino needed him in the Tavern while the other cooks are in the hospital." Luffy slurped down a plate of beef stew "Oh, and he's worried she didn't get anything nice to eat while she was away."

"Huh," Ace chewed on a drumstick "I see…How did you figure all of that out anyway?"

"Eh? Sanji is really easy to understand Ace. You're kinda stupid."

"Somehow I feel that you shouldn't be saying that to me. What exactly happened to the rest of the kitchen staff?" Ace shook his head and blinked before collapsing face first into a plate of delicious and _hot_ beef stew. Luffy pulled his face out and set him on the table without pause and proceeded to steal the rest of his dinner.

Bonney paused from stuffing a slice of _delicious _pizza made with _love_ and patted Sanji on the cheek. "That's quite alright darlin' I don't need protectin' but I do so 'ppreciate the sentiment." Before planting a sloppy kiss on him and letting the blond chef mellorine himself into a pool of goo on the floor. It wasn't as if there was anything new about that anyway.

_-break-_

What Usopp was really good at was noticing things. Unlike 'Hawk-eyes' Mihawk his skill was not that he had particularly sharp eyesight or a natural instinct for identifying weaknesses but rather that he had trained himself to _notice_. When he ran further into the chamber to have a look (and to edge away from Kohza whose mood was dangerously close to Zoro when deprived of a challenge for too long. That is to say irritable, cranky and likely to lash out and ohgodpleasedon'thurtme.) he had spotted something.

A place where the wall seemed….'wrong' somehow. Once they had seen through that disguise it was easy pickings. Zoro busted in the door and they helped themselves. To what was there anyway. The room was tiny and barely fit two people at once, the walls lined with shelves that had been carved into the wall. The containers were in various states of disrepair but they were mistakes spinning from time rather than any kind of deliberate damage. Zoro, as the 'workhorse', went into the tiny room and passed out everything that could be moved for the others to sort through.

There were multiple cases of outdated currency, mostly made from worthless metals. For that reason Robin was practical and only removed a handful of the mint condition coins for historical reasons. They couldn't carry so much back to the guild and even if their historical value was truly priceless it wasn't as if they could sell them anywhere…

Fortunately there was some more financially pleasing items and they quickly divided up the ownership of some ancient jewellery lovingly crafted from precious, precious materials that would likely ensure a confrontation with Nami. Robin smiled to herself imagining the passionate greed emanating from her 'younger sister'. Her reactions would probably provide a full evening of entertainment. She didn't notice Kohza subtly edging away from her and giving her a suspicious look tinged with a hint of fear.

Such treasures were always appreciated and it was always nice to possess funds for emergencies. Zoro grunted and Robin looked up in interest, being as she was an expert in the language of powerful men, because the warrior had found something interesting. He hefted out a large heavy chest covered in sprawling runes that were clearly of some significant power considering the near perfect condition of the chest. He set it by Robin and she pulled out her enchanted tome to set about cracking the enchanted lock. While he did that Usopp slipped inside the hidden room and checked for anything of interest they may have missed.

"Wha? Is this..?" the sniper carefully removed a protective cloth to examine the long thin box. "Could this be…? Oi! Zoro! I think I've found a sword here."

They completely unwrapped the thick cloth to reveal a scuffed box with peeling leather. Unlike the small but hefty chest Robin was magically picking it had no serious securities that couldn't be overcome by Zoro simply ripping it open. (Although Usopp did take pains to point out that he could have simply picked the lock but nooooo, he didn't have the patience for that did he?) Zoro lifted out the sword that was heavily bound in protective cloth. The covering fell away to reveal an elegant katana which was summarily drawn for inspection.

"Hmm, it looks like…a named blade." Zoro grinned wickedly "Yeah, this is definitely the _Kashū_, one of the fifty _Ryō Wazamono_ grade swords."

Kohza blinked "Not that it doesn't look like an impressive sword but how are you so sure?"

"This is Zoro here." Usopp flapped his hand and gave the desert dweller a flat look "He does swords."

"Huh, point. Is this the 'sword of truth' then?"

"While that is the literal translation of the words, that is not quite what it is." Robin smiled and clicked open the lid of the case with a satisfied look "A proper understanding of the texts explains that it is a 'true sword', a blade of quality and high calibre. It has been languishing here for some years which is really a terrible shame."

"It's the same grade as my _Sandai Kitetsu_. A good sword to have in any case and one that shouldn't be left to rot in a place like this."

Usopp secured the loot in his pack and stood up. "So, are we going to camp here or are we going to head back down?"

"We're going." Robin emptied the small chest of scrolls and a few hand bound books with rapid movements but not before handing a few to Kohza. "We definitely can't stay put here, no matter the small chances of being caught."

"This isn't about the you-know-what, I take it." Kohza secured his own luggage and peered at the tall woman through his tinted visor "There's something hidden on those scrolls that's illegal too."

"Precisely. This, this is _true _treasure but we can't be caught with it." She grimaced tersely " _Hana-Hana_ is a priceless enchantment but if we're caught with these scrolls we'll have to deal with the Nobles in the north."

"That's it. We're out of here." Zoro slid the newly acquired sword into his haramaki and headed for the exit. "I'm not dealing with those annoying bastards. Let's get the hell off this damn mountain and get me some sake."

Usopp restrung his bow "Wonderful. Back out in the cold and off to shake hands with the mountain monsters. All in a days work."

* * *

**A/N:**

In this AU…

More will be revealed in the final parts (This is 1/3)

Robin: uses runes and the like to make life easier on the road. She also unearthed a scroll containing the secrets of duplication magic that was once used in tandem with Runes/enchantments. She's still a morbid scholar so very little has changed.

Zoro: still a swordsman, ambitious and a connoisseur of blades. On good terms with Tashigi.

Nami: Weather witch. Uses magic related to the weather but trained as a thief when Arlong and his gang oppressed her village. Luffy took a mission to wipe them out and brought her back to join the guild.

Sanji: Same as ever but possessing some appreciative skill in fire magics.

Luffy: Trained as a bare knuckle fighter and exceptionally gifted with _Spirit Arts._ Which yeah, killing intent, Haki. Whatever you want to call it.

Shanks: Guildmaster. He's in charge of the guild, owner and the top fighter there.

Brooke: A bard. Can use his skills to increase his allies stats and confuse enemies. Useful. Still a swordsman. Technically a necromancer but we'll come back to that.

Ace: Dragon…will explain later. I swear I was nearly done before I thought of Fairy Tail and Dragons are always in Breath of Fire and RPGs.

Kohza: Works directly for Vivi as a jack of all trades. He is fluent in all forms of Alabastan language and was sent to help decode the carvings in the ruins.

Usopp: A rogue! C: Archer and sharpshooter with a great deal of skill when it comes to hiding in shadows. Hahaha.

Makino: Runs the day to day of the Guild hall and is an Earth mage of some power. Will also come back to this in one of the other parts.

Franky: is the son of Cid. Tom was Cid.

Next part will have Ace going on an adventure. :3


	2. Enchanted Dagger

A/N: Seriously, 'Fairy Tail' only came to mind when I was near done with this fic. And that annoyed me greatly I can tell you because I was thinking of MMOs, Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Dragon Age and other RPGs, the kind of stuff I was rared on, when I wrote it but gah, look at those similarities. It makes me sad, it really does.

I'm experimenting here but it's nice to have fun while you do so. Not exactly my best effort in truth but hell, I'm committed now. In fact this is crying out for a decent editing but I can't be bothered devoting time to it when it's supposed to be a hit and run fic in terms of writing. One more!

Response to the weapon prompt! XD

* * *

**Weapon: Enchanted Dagger**

Ace received from his parents: his looks, a strong will and an enchanted dagger that was nothing really.

He generally assumed that they'd had some sort of funny sense of humour.

[~~~~]

The Grand Council was established to oversee the organisation of guilds throughout the Eastern Continent but they were really pretty hands off. In fact, the only things they really did were: hold an annual (and _violent_) tournament, hunt illegal guilds and have _really_ big parties. What's important to know in this situation is one thing. That they _knew_ they had no real power, _that_ lay with the nobles in the north (or as they were frequently referred to: 'those inbred piss-licking sons of…' well, you get the idea.) It wasn't a collection of fools or idiots which in later years the army realised that this was what had helped (or damned) them all so much when the Nobles finally decided to exercise their 'power.'

Shanks had business with the members, specifically the grand adventurer Whitebeard. Edward Newgate was frequently referred to as 'the big daddy of them all' and ten minutes with the man explains it all. In fact a normal person would probably find themselves adopted and in awe of his eternal awesomeness while offering to walk his dog Stefan within five. The red-headed Guild Master of _The Gray Path_ had left the charge of the guild to Makino (lovely, charming, Makino) and Robin who had recently returned from a successful retrieval of some ancient documentation. The S-ranked enchantress was going to be busy for the next few weeks with translations and runework so she was grounded from missions and in the perfect position to take care of matters. Plus she terrified a good many people and the rest were quite often preoccupied with seducing her. (Not that they had yet to succeed and Shanks had a strong feeling that Kidd mostly did it for entertainment.)

"It's only the beginning you know." Benn lit up a cigarette "Somehow, Thatch is just the tip of the iceberg."

Shanks sighed and glanced back down the road. "I know. We're at an end here. Makino and Robin are well into the preparations. It'll be sooner rather than later."

His right hand man nodded approvingly "What about Dadan? Have they been warned?"

"Yeah, they have. They already knew and are as prepared as you can get. I doubt they'll be in much danger anyway." Shanks started up walking again, dust kicking up around his steps "We're the ones that they'll go for."

[~~~~]

Ace took a slug from his canteen and idly examined the map in front of him. Shanks had cautioned him, on pain of having all of his dining privileges revoked in all but four regions, not to go off seeking vengeance upon his enemies. (His words had been something to the effect of "You're not Mihawk or Sanji so don't turn this into a chivalrous quest when there are people ahead of you in the queue.")

The Dragon mage agreed (although he could _totally _take whoever it was) so right now he was tracking potential leads. The rumbling voice at the back of his head growled and he examined the map closely.

Thatch had surfaced on the coast. In fact, it had been Franky who had fished him out of the waters on his way back to the guild. It had been some work to identify him. It had been clear that he had suffered a violent death at any rate.

It was a clear cut case of murder but the reasons were murky at best. Who could want to hurt Thatch and more importantly how could it benefit anyone? The man was well known and had a wide circle of friends and allies. Killing him was a damn stupid thing to do and if the murderer hadn't known who he was and if robbery was the object…well Thatch still had all of his valuables with him.

Thankfully, unlike his brother, Ace could in fact read a map so brandishing the elegant scrap of cartography that Shanks had scribbled all over he set out to track the final journey made by Thatch and search for clues. Him and his partner in crime, they were going to find that bastard and make him pay!

Humming a little tune and listening to the voice of his ally Ace continued down the road leaving dusty boot prints in his wake.

[~~~~]

Nami pursed her lips as she put the finishing touch on her latest map. The cartographer gently slid the freshly blotted map into the embossed leather holder for all of her completed maps. Accurate maps were a precious commodity in their life and cartography skills couldn't be had in some regions for all the water in Alabasta.

She paused and twisted in her seat in order to throw her empty mug at Zoros' head.

"Stop brawling with Sanji-kun and go back to sleep dammit! Lunch will be late if you keep messing around!" Sanji is instantly by her side scattering fluttering hearts everywhere and cooing various apologies but all Nami can hear right now is 'blah, blah, blah, Mellorine~' She patted him on the head and he melted allowing himself to be shooed back to the kitchen.

Nami smoothed down her skirt and went up to the beautiful hardwood bar that Makino had grown herself. (Usopp had carved decorations into it when he was younger.) Makino was nowhere to be seen though. Frowning slightly she slipped behind and made her way into the storeroom.

She blinked apologised and backed out. She put her back to the door and covered her mouth. 'Oh poor Master Shanks…he'll be heartbroken.' She thought before shaking her head and coming to her senses 'No, he'll just probably kill Kidd for seducing Makino-nee.'

[~~~~]

_The enchantress Rouge had died when Ace was less than a year old. The same disease that had swept his father away had claimed her leaving her child to the care of her distant cousin Dadan._

_Of course Dadan didn't 'take care' of children the way normal or barely sane people did which was why the eight year old was tearing up an abandoned rabbit path of the mountain with no one on his trail, wondering where he was or even consciously aware of the dangers that a child was currently being exposed to._

_To that end there was no one to be surprised or worry when the ground beneath his foot turned out to be a well concealed entrance to a cave leaving the boy to vanish in a whoosh of wind, dirt and dried leaves._

[~~~~]

Zoro kidded open the store room door and swaggered into the musty gloom. He tucked a barrel of his choice of beverage for the day (Read: any old alcohol will do for the moment) and paused at the occupants of the dark store.

He blinked and turned on his heel. "I didn't see anything." Before pausing "Killer weren't you on a job?"

The masked man shrugged and Kidd grinned wickedly telling the swordsman all he needed to know. Zoro beat a hasty retreat and returned to his favourite seat on the upper level. It was best to simply leave Kidd to his perversions in his opinion.

[~~~~]

The Council operated out of a famous arena where they held their tournaments. Which was just as well seeing as it was magically re-enforced to withstand their extremely violent and dangerous fights. (Not to mention frequent.)

Marco was slouching in the doorframe when Shanks and his party drew close. The red-haired grinned and waved and the blonde raised his hand in greeting.

"Long time no see red-hair, eh?"

"Too long, Marco. When are you going to join our guild?" Shanks pouted "I don't get to see you nearly enough."

"Oi, Beckman. Can't you keep this guy on his leash? I can see where that 'Kidd' gets it from."

Benn gave Marco a flat look and puffed on his cigarette. Shanks choose this moment to tackle…er...hug his friend from behind but the marksmans years of experience allowed him to merely take the blow to the back and keep on walking. Shanks wrapped himself around Benn like some sort of limpet and point blank refused to let go

"Benn." Shanks whined "Marco doesn't love me anymore. You do right? You won't leave me (and Makino) will you?"

The grey haired man sighed as he reached the door and Marcos mocking eyebrow "No, Shanks. I'm not going anywhere and Marco doesn't hate you, he just doesn't want to drop everything and go with you. He's a bit too sensible for that."

Shanks dropped to the ground and Benn rolled his shoulder in relief. Make no mistake, Shanks was lean but it was all compact muscle and heavier than he should be.

"Never mind then." He cheered "Marco can always change his mind and Makino would be thrilled to have him in our happy home. Why I can even see it now: Me, at the head of the table as the head of the household, Benn relaxing in a chair smoking his cigarettes, Makino (Sweet, Glorious, Womanly, Makino) cooking her famous kitchen sink stew and Marco relaxing with a mug of ale or if you'd prefer, on a lovely gilded perch. Even better, a swing. (I've always wanted to get once of those installed."

Marco blinked and tilted his head. "You're some kind of deviant aren't you?"

Benn snorted "How many years has it taken you to figure that out?"

[~~~~]

_Ace plummeted through the roof of the cave and was terrified that he'd end up with a broken limb or worse. Luckily though, he found a soft landing. Unluckily, the 'sort landing' punched him in retribution. Hard._

_Ace did the only sensible thing and punched his assailant back. The small, dusty cavern was soon filled with the sounds of the scuffle between two small boys and several creative curses._

[~~~~]

The young soldier saluted nervously to Ace before smiling in an embarrassed manner. "Ah, nice to meet you Ace-san. You're Luffys brother aren't you?"

Ace bowed politely (using the beautiful manners that Makino had painstakingly taught him.) and grinned in a friendly manner. "Would that make you Coby-kun then? You're the contact I have to meet, right?"

Coby nodded vigorously and dug into his sidepack. "I'm training with General Garp and he thought I should make the delivery since Luffy is my friend and he was being 'held prisoner'"

Ace shuddered as he accepted the missive 'Maker bless you Sengoku.'

He quickly scanned the contents and frowned at the information "You think it's connected then?"

"It seems so. Emissary Thatch was last seen in the vicinity and the reliquary was completely destroyed so whatever was contained within is in the hands of whoever survived the fight."

"Well, being dead kind of clears Thatch of any suspicion."

Coby twitched nervously "Until we catch whoever robbed the place, nothing is certain. Some are blaming the adventurers and a couple of the higher-ups believe Thatch was on orders from Whitebeard."

Ace snarled and the paper smoked in his grasp. "It wasn't Thatch and it wasn't the old man. I'll find this guy and clear their names."

"Please be careful Ace-san. Whoever did this has some sort of powerful weapon on their hands and they were able to kill Thatch-san before they had it."

[~~~~]

_Everyday, Ace made his way deep into the mountain and climbed until he reached the cave. Whatever Sabo really was, he couldn't leave the dusty cavern on his own. Ace had to 'bring' him outside._

_The two boys spent their days exploring the wilderness and battling the creatures that crossed their path. Then Luffy joined them and they were three. Brothers in all but blood and whatever happened after that, this always held true._

[~~~~]

The swamp beast let out a pitiful cry as Luffy pummelled it into submission leaving Usopp to merely watch in resigned amusement as his friend whooped his victory from on top of the fallen behemoth. "Fresh Meat!"

"Oi, Luffy. You can't eat that, it's poisonous!"

"Eh? Then why did we kill it?"

Usopp buried his face in his hands. "No, that was all you Luffy. We just need the teeth anyway. An artisan is paying us for this, remember?"

The martial artist merely frowned and blinked cluelessly at the sniper. "Nope. Ooh, there's the mask guy! Yo, Mask-guy!"

Killer dragged his kill behind him as he made his way over to the pair, Luffy bouncing and waving with a degree of flexibility and what seemed to be longer reach than you would expect.

"Straw-hat, Sniper." He nodded in acknowledgement "Are you also undertaking some training?"

"Actually, Killer-san we're _supposed_ to be on a short mission but Luffy seems intent on decimating the local ecosystem….although it's probably wrecked at this point so who am I to stand in your way?"

The masked man merely cocked his head to one side before turning his attention to Luffy. "Strawhat, I have a question regarding your brother 'Firefist'. Why is he referred to as a dragon mage? Is his fire magic that powerful?"

Usopp blinked and looked at Luffy "That's a good question actually. I've heard it said a lot but I don't think I've ever seen Ace in action. To refer to him as 'dragon' his power must be hella' scary."

"But 'Black-leg' is a fire mage too." Killer interjected, casually wiping the gore from his blades "It is hardly an unusual skill."

Luffy folded his legs into a painful looking position and blinked. "Ah, that's easy. Ace has a nakama that's a dragon and they fight together."

"….what?"

[~~~~]

"_I'll leave this place soon. I want to see more of the world. I'm thinking of joining a guild. I want to meet this Shanks guy anyway." Ace grinned "After all, he saved Luffy. I have to thank him properly."_

_Sabo snickered and adjusted his hat "I wish I could see that."_

_They sat in silence for a while, merely enjoying the breeze until Sabo spoke. He had been putting it off for far too long anyway. "I can't leave the mountain Ace."_

"_Eh? You mean you're not ready?"_

"_No, I mean I __**can't**__. It's impossible for me to leave the mountain the same way I can't leave my cavern."_

_His brother gave him a shrewd look. "But I can take you out of the cave, no matter that so there's obviously a loophole here you don't want to bring up."_

"_Ace…would you accept my power if I gave it to you?"_

[~~~~]

Her heels clacked smartly on the floor as she made her way into the ground floor store. Making her way towards the wine rack she quickly ran her fingers over the right hand side before selecting a bottle and checking the label.

Robin frowned minutely and glanced to the couple on her left. "Kidd-san, you show a great preference for the storeroom. Does Makino-san know you're in here?"

"I'm sure she does" the redhead leered "Although, if you feel the need to inform her I'm sure you could 'discuss' things with me an' the Doc here."

Robin smiled slightly "I'm afraid I'll have to decline Kidd-san and, ah is it Law-san now? Yes, it is. I wonder how Bepo feels about this?" she chuckled before sashaying out once more, wine in hand.

[~~~~]

Ace ran.

It wasn't the loping bouncing trot he set when he just wanted to move faster or the frenetic pumping of his limbs he displayed whenever he skipped the bill. This was a primal movement pitched forward at an impossible angle as he streaked across the landscape like a wolf in pursuit.

He bared his teeth and a snarl echoed across the valley. He knew his prey, he knew where he was and when he found him he was going to _char-broil_ the bastard!

[~~~~]

"_Let's fight together Ace. I don't want you or Luffy to leave me behind. So let's make a pact. You won't rely on my power and I won't force it upon you. Let's fight together and look out for our comrades."_

_Sabo held out his hand._

_Ace took it._

_He didn't hesitate and he never regretted it._

[~~~~]

Usopp frowned. "You're going to have to explain that Luffy. I've never seen a dragon stroll in and buy Ace a drink. (Lot's of other strange creatures though.)"

It was impossible to read Killers' expression through his mask and he had an annoying tendency to speak in a mostly flat emotionless monotone. (It was also common knowledge that he was a social sadist and loved to make situations awkward and generally fuck with peoples' minds in a subtle manner. Plus, like Kidd he was a bit of a dick.)

"Do you mean…a pact?" Killer muttered "Dragons are mostly extinct and those that still exist are generally tied to something or other. Does 'Firefist' truly have one?"

Luffy blinked and jammed his finger up his nose leaving the fighter with an exhausting feeling of empathy for the others that usually worked with Luffy.

"Actually never mind, it's not really my business." Killer grabbed the enormous carcass of the beats he slew and started back towards the guild hall. When it came to Luffy and his brother, sometimes it was best just to trample all over your curiosity and challenge them to a fight. Simplicity worked best with them.

[~~~~]

Law paused in his stroll and peered into the store room. Kidd and Nami blinked guilelessly back at him.

"Eustass-ya, you're a mite too loud. The musicians are starting too complain."

[~~~~]

Ace was strong.

He was talented, had an uncanny instinct for battle and excellent skills. He was trained in brutal martial arts and had a strong grasp of the 'Spirit Arts' that defined the most powerful fighters on the continent. He had mastered his fire magic to a degree that he could coat his limbs in searing hot flame and occasionally transform his entire body into a raging inferno.

So to find himself up against an opponent that he couldn't scratch was undeniably frustrating.

Ace crashed through another building and choked as he coughed up more of his own blood. What the hell kind of power did that man have? It seemed to simply 'nullify' everything he threw at him. His fire was useless and he couldn't seem to muster an ounce of strength to try any 'Spirit Arts'. He almost wished Luffy was there. Every punch his brother threw was saturated with Haki instinctively. Ace did that with fire and for once he wished he had chased the same path as his brother.

That was just the blinding pain talking though.

[~~~~]

Luffy paused and turned on his heel for a moment before continuing on.

"Luffy? Is something wrong?" Usopp glanced towards his dawdling friend.

"Nah, he'll be fine." Luffy shrugged as he caught up to his friend.

"A-are you sure nothing's bothering you? You still look sort of worried."

"It's fine." Luffy shook his head "Sabo is looking out for him anyway."

He folded his arms behind his head and jogged on leaving Usopp frowning in puzzlement.

"Who's Sabo?"

[~~~~]

Teach had freely admitted the murder, his theft of an _insanely _dangerous artefact, his intentions before attempting to recruit Ace. The brutal beating was just insult to injury.

It was galling to admit but he couldn't beat the murderous cretin just with his own strength and he had sworn to rely on his own power first and foremost. They had agreed and approved of this too!

"_Then we should stop."_ The voice murmured in the back of his head and Ace felt a light touch on his shoulder _"He's stronger than you right now, don't deny it. This isn't about proving who's better it's about stopping the bastard."_

'Then how should we do this?' Ace rolled over and pushed himself up thanking the Celestial Dragon of the Eastthat Teach was a gloater. 'Jump him with the boost?'

"_Use your dagger Ace. The one your parents left you."_

'Bastard it has no power. It'll have no effect!'

"_It's the perfect weapon. It has the power of absolutely nothing."_

'If I die, I swear on Luffys appetite that I'll find some way to haunt you, you bastard.'

[~~~~]

_Sabo peered at the curved dagger. "What the hell is that that?"_

"_A dagger, you dolt. I'm sure even you know that much."_

"_This coming from the guy who thinks 'bastard' is a polite introduction."_

_Ace punched Sabo on the shoulder and the other boy fell over laughing and kicking his legs._

"_Dadan says it belonged to my father and that my mother placed enchantments on it. However…" he waved the knife experimentally "It doesn't do anything."_

_His companion squinted at the light flashing off the dull blade "I thought enchantments had to be activated. Maybe you just haven't figured it out yet."_

"_Dadan __**also**__ said that it has the power of absolutely nothing."_

_Sabo blinked and grinned. "Ah, I see. I think I understand what that is then."_

"_Good because I sure as hell don't."_

"_Just keep it with you Ace. It's a one-time use. Carry it with you everywhere and you'll have it when you really need it." _

"_So what does it do?"_

_Sabo grinned, his snaggle-tooth smile splitting his face with cheer "It does nothing but it'll only do that once."_

[~~~~]

Ace lunged towards Teach moving as fast as he could and the man just let him come. He had absorbed the sealed magic with the artefact of 'Yami' a lost and forbidden power. It was the raw power of a black hole contained within a human body and as a nifty side effect it nullified most magics leaving only extremely high level masters of 'Spirit Arts' as any sort of viable threat.

He had searched for it all of his adult life and now that he had achieved it well, he was feeling justifiably smug which was why he took the stab straight on. He knew a knife to the cut wouldn't do him any damage but the look on the kids face when he realised it was truly hopeless…_that _was something he was going to treasure for the rest of his life.

Except, he didn't just feel an impact. It hurt. It really hurt and his blood was leaking out of the wound as the boy leapt away leaving the curved handle sticking out of the would.

The dawning expression of horror on his face was one Ace would treasure for the rest of his days.

[~~~~]

Unusually, for a Monday, the storeroom behind the bar was seeing a lot of traffic today. Sanji generally visited it anyway to select a suitable wine for a dish.

He puffed irritably as he tucked a bottle of vintage (that Robin-chwan would appreciate) under his arm. "Oi, Magnet-bastard. You've been here all day. You've been warned about running your escort service out of the guild hall. (and generally being a man-whore on premises)"

"Mmmm~ Sanji-chan! You could always Mmmm~ Join in."

"Mellorine~ When did you decide to grace us with your presence Sadi-chama? But unfortunately I must decline as Master Shanks has decreed his own _unique_ brand of punishment for engaging in such activities on site."

Sanji whirled out, wine in hand, never thinking to scrutinise what he had just seen.

Kidd eyed the door contemplatively for a moment. "Why didn't I go for Bonney? That would have been hilarious."

"And then Sanji-chan would have Mmmm~ kicked your face in."

[~~~~]

The ominous black presence that had been previously saturating the air had vanished, as if it had never existed. Teach grasped desperately at the dagger only to scream as it glowed mutely and disappeared _inside_ him. He couldn't call upon his new powers; whatever Portgas had done with that dagger had somehow stolen them away. The only thing in his favour right now was that the knife wound hadn't struck anything vital and despite the openly bleeding gash the so called 'dragon mage' was dead on his feet.

Teach snarled and reached for his own knife. He was going to gut the little bastard, strew his innards across the clearing before mounting his head on a pike and sending it express to Newgate. He'd show the world what happened to those that crossed him.

So enthralled with his revenge and power fantasies he neglected to notice the thrumming energy that was spilling across the area.

[~~~~]

Dadan was an earth mage and a bit of a bandit to be honest. She lived perfectly contentedly up in the mountain range with her 'family' and the miscellaneous parade of people who barged into her life to cause her endless drama and aggravate her previously non-existent heart condition.

She had instructed Makino in the basics of her art and a few hundred years ago the girl would have been worshipped as a harvest goddess with talent like that. Unfortunately the way the world was now, most (read: all) with that talent were forced to conceal their abilities to the extent that the most work Makinos considerable talents got involved her herb garden the field she maintained for her personal brew. (which Shanks insisted was the main reason he remained her devoted servant.)

The cantankerous dirt witch had raised Ace and Luffy…in a manner of speaking. The day that Ace brought him a snaggle-toothed kid from up the mountains she felt a bit of her life leave her. He would have to go and make friends with something terrifying like that wouldn't he? It made sense in a strange way though, he was a 'D' after all.

Still, Sabo was a good kid. He just terrified a few decades off her life when he appeared. Trust Ace to find the avatar of a dragon and bind it into a contract without realising it. 'Fire Mage'? 'Martial Artist'? The kid was a damn summoner and didn't even realise it.

[~~~~]

Ace was completely spent, all of his power and adrenaline had been completely sapped in the last desperate charge. At least, he mused to himself, he finally understood what they meant when they talked about the dagger having the power of 'nothing' because that's exactly what it had reduced those terrifying abilities to.

His head swam and the ground swept up to meet him as he struggled back to his feet from where Teach had backhanded him. A stream of familiar cursing filled his ears and the corner of his mouth twitched at the antics of his brother. A strange touch was on his arm immediately coaxing him to his feet and whispers urging him to stop 'dicking around'.

"Yeah, sorry Sabo. I was being cocky, as usual." He muttered "Will you help me deal with this guy?"

There was a snort, one that managed convey an enormous amount of disdain towards his intelligence, common sense and taste in millinery.

"_Was there ever any doubt?"_

Fire raced through his veins.

[~~~~]

"_Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! What a great kid you've found there. You there Sabo. Join the military."_

"_Like hell shitty old man."_

"_Reluctance eh? M y Fist of Love will bring you to your senses! Bwa-ha-ha."_

_Garp continued laughing even as Sabo and Ace snatched up Luffy and fled into the mountains._

_Dadan flailed desperately "Garp don't antagonize the boy. He's not, he's not."_

"_Not human at any rate. What is he? Some variety of gnome?"_

_Dadan blinked "You already knew?"_

"_Can't hide anything from me! Bwa-ha-ha-ha." Garp continued laughing as Dadan panicked fearing an end of day's style battle triggered before the day is out. "Meh, whatever. Ace and Luffy seem to like him anyway. He'll make a great military man, I just have to convince him."_

_Dadan mentally adjusted her will._

[~~~~]

The air around Ace rippled with heat as he stood once more. Plumes of flickering flame danced across his body as he moved forward. The fire twisted and flared, changing colour as he moved towards his opponent.

Teach had only a moment to hesitate, to realise the utter inadequacy of the sad little knife in his hand, to rage at weapon that had sealed his hard won prize and regret that he hadn't disposed of the body better.

The boy was running towards him now.

No, there was two? Was someone flanking him?

Ace snarled and Teach screamed as he saw a green-hued dragon bare its' teeth.

What he saw, what he thought he saw. None of that matters because he died any way you look at it.

His last thoughts, surprisingly enough, were not of his failed ambitions or stolendreams but a stark realisation just why Portgas D. Ace was referred to as the "Dragon Mage". It was a rather literal title.

[~~~~]

The cart rattled into the courtyard, heaped with miscellaneous produce and drawn by a dinosaur in leather. Makino clambered down from the cart with a bag in her arms and the beast magic user resumed his natural form before he began to assist with the unloading.

Makino nodded her thanks and entered the guild hall and blinked in surprise as Nami gaped and spluttered at her presence. "Oh? Is something wrong Nami-chan?"

[~~~~]

Luffy glanced out the window before returning to the more important issue of his meat.

If they didn't get back in time it as their own problem not his and of course that meant there would be more meat for him!

"Sanji! Seconds!"

[~~~~]

The Den-Den mushi bounced on the table as it transmitted. This particular mushi had the misfortune of resembling Shanks a great deal.

"Makino-chan!" Shanks warbled happily over the receiver "We're finished our business and we'll be back soon. Don't let anyone take any long-term missions, we're going to have a guild meeting."

"Right so Master Shanks." Makino chirped utterly unphased as the Den-Den mushi emitted a display of fluttering hearts to make Sanji proud.

"Oh, Makino-san. Marco is here. Hang on and I'll make him say hello to you."

There was the sound of an audible scuffle across the line and some cursing before the rather clear sound of a gun being cocked seemed to put an end to it all.

"Eh, fine. Just stop that already."

"Marco-san, it's been far too long. How are you doing?"

"Very well thank you Makino-san." Marco replied "I'm sorry I haven't been to visit recently but things have been very busy."

"What kind of excuse is that?" Shanks interrupted him "Tell her you love her (almost as much as I do) and you miss her (not nearly as much as I do though. That's impossible.) Then promise to come visit!"

"Gerroff you loon."

Makino gave the Den-Den mushi a sad little look which the men on the other end of the line seemed to sense. "You're not? But you haven't come to visit in so long…."

"No, no I will come to visit Makino-san. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that Marco-san." Makino smiled.

"Ah~" whined Shanks "Now I'm missing Makinos smile. Makino-chan, will you smile for me when I come back?"

"But of course Master Shanks. I'll smile even more if you do your paperwork when you get here."

The sounds of the distinct laughter of Benn and Marco echoed down the line but she was distracted by a particularly loud noise from the store.

"Hold on, one moment please." She leaned back and pushed the door. "Kidd-san, Ben-chan. We've discussed this. Not in the storeroom."

Shanks, having heard everything, let out an outraged roar into the Den-Den mushi. "Someone's getting some in my guild while I'm deprived? Like hell!"

Kidd burst out of the store and snagged the receiver out of Makinos hand. "Just because Makino won't put out for you, you son of a…"

"Kidd-chan" Bentham slammed his ballet slipper into the red-heads face with considerable force considering the elegant grace of his form. "How dare you speak about Makino-chan in such a manner?" he shrieked while keeping perfect point and ending with a little pirouette.

"Ben-chan" Makino admonished "We've discussed this. That has to be taken elsewhere. Not in the guild hall."

Bentham bit his bottom lip and let tears come gushing forth and threw himself into an endless spin "Forgive me Makino-saaaaaaaaaaan! That was not the okama way, I should feel ashamed of myself."

"That's quite alright Ben-chan. Just don't do it anymore. Oh, and Kidd-san. If you decide to 'chance your arm', I'll have you water the sprouts."

Shanks cooed appreciation down the line before giving Makino a few orders and hanging up.

Kidd blinked, adjusted his trousers and gave her a calculating look before retreating to a table where some of his friends (colleagues/slaves) were sitting.

[~~~~]

Zoro lowered his bottle of sake " the hell? Are you telling me those two were in there all day.

"Yeah, you didn't know?" Luffy replied before throwing out his arms for a greeting "Bon-chan!"

"Straw-chan!" Bentham screeched and the two collapsed into a snot and tear filled hug of powerful friendship.

"For the love of…" Zoro snarled "You saw each other last week morons!"

[~~~~]

A young man walked home. He was covered in bruises and he walked alone.

He walked with a friend and arms thrown across shoulders with the casual intimacy of a strong friendship and kinship.

There were no young men there, only something touched by a creature extinct whose time has passed.

Ace walked the road back to the guild.

Sabo was with him every step of the way.


End file.
